Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 Source: West Australian (Australia) Copyright: 2003 West Australian Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.thewest.com.au Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/495 Author: Wendy Pryer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) DRUG COURT SUCCESS QUERIED THE Drug Court has not stopped people re-offending, Attorney-General Jim McGinty said yesterday. Mr McGinty said a draft evaluation report found that offenders were just as likely to commit another crime as those dealt with by other courts but also said that the reliability of the results was limited because it was based on a small number of people. The study by the University of WA crime research centre was given to the Department of Justice three months ago. Mr McGinty said he could not release the report yet because it was still a draft. He was surprised by the results. He said another finding of concern was that only a third of the 729 offenders who went through the court in the two years to November 2002 completed treatment programs. The more intensive the program, the less likely offenders were to complete it. "What we will do is publish the evaluation and obviously we will then need to have a hard-headed look at it," he said. Asked if the results were because the court had only limited powers, Mr McGinty said: "They refer to that but basically they say underpinning all of that is that there is no demonstrable reduction in recidivism by people who entered the drug court." But the report suggested the court had had other benefits, such as reducing offenders' drug use and improving their health. Mr McGinty defended himself against criticism that the legislation would not allow the Drug Court to work effectively. The court, set up as a pilot project in December 2000, can deal only with people who plead guilty and can make drug treatment only a condition of bail. Offenders then are sentenced for their original offence by another court. The Government's drug law reform committee chairman and Law Society spokesman John Prior said legislation letting the court hear a wider range of offences and giving it greater sentencing powers was critical to its success. "I would have serious reservations about the quality of the evaluation because the Drug Court was never properly legislated and is restricted in what it can do," he said. Mr McGinty said he would act on the drug summit recommendation, made almost two years ago, to give the Drug Court more powers. He could not detail all of the new powers but they would be in magistrate court legislation likely to be introduced to Parliament in a few months. Mr Prior said that legislation had been talked about for five years and was not likely to be the appropriate vehicle to make the necessary changes. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh